Mind-Body Medicine

Posts

Saybrook University this week announced that its new master's degree in nutrition will open in January 2015. The MS in Integrative and Functional Nutrition is pending accreditation from WASC, a regional accrediting body recognized by the U. S. Department of Education

Join the vanguard of healthcare professionals offering patients new and more effective forms of self-care and health management. Study in our nutrition graduate program to become a patient-centered healthcare provider who combines a rigorous scientific understanding of nutrition and whole-body health with proven techniques that support the mind and spirit as well.

Joshua Hendrickson is a doctoral student in the “Integrative Mental Health” specialization in Saybrook’s School of Mind-Body Medicine. Josh spent his youth in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan surrounded by a family of teachers, social workers, nurses, and artists. Growing up with a family of artists taught him to appreciate the arts, a tradition he is carrying on in his unique manner. During his youth he spent time with an Aunt at her art gallery, watched his Uncle direct an orchestra, or enjoyed his grandmother sharing her love of photography. Josh is using photography as his medium to explore the evolution of human consciousness.

Josh is blending photography with what he has learned as a social worker to explore the deeper levels of human connection and transparency through three series in a comprehensive artistic project. The name of the first series is “Transparency Ice Emotion,” a photography project shot in black and white.

Annapoori (Anu) Ramasubramanian is an new faculty member at the Saybrook University School of Mind-Body Medicine and is sharing her knowledge of Ayurvedic medicine in the MBM course Whole Medical Systems: Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda. A whole medical system is a traditional body of theory and practices on health and disease, which has evolved independently from Western Allopathic medicine. Whole medical systems, such as the Ayurvedic medicine of India, often offer a rich array of therapies based on herbs, lifestyle practices, and an emphasis on treating the whole person -- mind, body, and spirit.

Shohreh Seirafi is the Senior Admissions Counselor for the Saybrook University School of Mind-Body Medicine, as well as for the School of Psychology and Interdisciplinary Inquiry Human Science program.

A few weeks ago, in discussion with a friend, Saybrook School of Mind-Body Medicine doctoral student Deborah Gray found herself bemoaning the idea of aging. She explained that she is not afraid or saddened by death but instead is grieving the loss of youth. In the process of explaining her sadness, Deb realized what grieves her most is the loss of firsts. “The first day of school, the first date, the first marriage, the first baby, etc.” Deb further explained that, “As always, life has a way of challenging my beliefs.”

Last week Deb had a wonderful opportunity to realize that her worries were for naught. She was blessed with the opportunity for a number of new firsts; visiting Inuvik, Canada in the Arctic Circle, being a co-presenter with Dr. Fred Luskin, Director of the Stanford Forgiveness Project, tasting caribou stew, flying Canadian North Airlines (tagline, “Seriously North”). Lastly, she got her first marriage proposal from a homeless man while visiting the local homeless shelter in Inuvik.

The Weston A. Price Foundation held a European Conference from the 8th to 9th of February 2014 at Esher in Surrey, United Kingdom. This event was accredited by The Naturopathic Nutrition Association*, the Federation of Nutritional Therapy Practitioners (FNTP), and the British Association of Applied Nutrition and Nutritional Therapy (BANT). This two day conference had a range of speakers from all over the world; from Kings College London to Saybrook University. School of Mind-Body Medicine doctoral student Yasmin Headley attended the conference, and reports here on a presentation by Saybrook University instructor Beverly Rubik.

We are what we eat, so it’s a big problem that Americans have a dysfunctional relationship with food.

But just telling people to “eat right” or “count calories” doesn’t work. We know it, and our doctors have discovered it. Yo-yo diets and food fads are even worse.

We need new approaches to nutrition, ways to integrate healthy habits and effective self-care into people’s lives, and do it in ways they’ll find personally meaningful.

That’s why Saybrook University’s School of Mind-Body Medicine is proud to announce a new MS degree in Integrative and Functional Nutrition – a degree focusing on the ways we can combine the best in nutritional science and psychology to help people take control of their health by improving their relationship with food.

How can a health professional acquire the knowledge, skills and competencies for the emerging fields of integrative and functional nutrition? We are excited to announce that Saybrook University, already a leader in the field of Mind-Body Medicine and Integrative Health, is offering a unique new Master's Degree program in Integrative and Functional Nutrition to prepare students to successfully practice in this emerging area of healthcare. The degree will enroll its first cohort in August 2014, pending WASC approval.

The curriculum has been designed to immerse students in the best of mainstream nutritional science and evidence-based approaches to integrative healthcare. Courses include health coaching, mindfulness and meditation, whole foods and culinary nutrition, dietary supplements and herbal medicine, laboratory assessment in functional nutrition, and clinical nutritional therapeutics based on integrative and functional medicine models.

In December of 2013 doctoral student Lynne Shaner had surgery on her eye to correct a condition called thyroid eye disease. After surgery she developed a post-surgical eye infection that her physicians later described as “The Triangle of Death.” The words paint an alarming picture of her condition and Lynne recollects that "hearing those words felt surreal.”

After several CT scans, 3 MRI’s, and multiple rounds of intravenous antibiotics Lynne began feeling a deep despair, like there was no end in sight. Rather than relying on her usual self-sufficient move forward attitude, Lynne knew she needed support and reached out to the communities that she has been cultivating, including the Saybrook School of Mind Body Medicine.

One of the many strengths of the Saybrook University School of Mind-Body Medicine is applying what we learn academically to our professional and personal lives. As a community -- including students, faculty, staff and our loved ones -- we continue to experience the full spectrum of life, from birth to death and all of the joys and sorrows in between, as we pursue our individual dreams. As a group we have the capacity to learn from one another and also to connect, share, and possibly collaborate.